Knockdown Center

Maspeth, NY

$12 / $15

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Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith’s formative years were spent communing with nature on Orcas Island in the northwest region of Washington state, a place she describes as “one of the most magical and peaceful places I have ever been.” Though she wouldn’t begin experimenting with modular synthesis until many years later, her creative work continues to be infused with and inspired by the vitality and serenity of Orcas. Smith left the island to attend Berklee College of Music, where she studied composition and sound engineering, initially focusing on her voice as her primary instrument, before switching to classical guitar and piano. She employed many of the skills she refined in college in her indie-folk band Ever Isles, but a fateful encounter with a neighbor who lent her a Buchla 100 synthesizer, had a profound effect on her. Mesmerized by the Buchla’s potential, she explains “I got so distracted and enamored with the process of making sounds with it that I abandoned the next Ever Isles album.” Starting with rhythmic patterns and melodic pulses, she soon began sculpting lush and exciting worlds of sound.

You're familiar with Angel Deradoorian's voice. As the former bassist, keyboardist and vocalist for Dirty Projectors, her levitating vocals buoyed the Brooklyn-based group. She's been a member of Avey Tare's Slasher Flicks, sang on Flying Lotus' "Siren Song," and has collaborated with Vampire Weekend, Bjork, Matmos, the Roots, et al.

Her first song collection, 2009's Mind Raft EP elicited praise from Pitchfork for being "passionate and lovingly crafted." The Fader hailed her "zen weed energy" and "moody dervish spirals." Her debut LP, The Expanding Flower Planet reflects a remarkable creative journey.

Others imitate the past and others divine inspiration and transmit it elsewhere. Deradoorian embodies the latter idea, synthesizing faint hints of Alice Coltrane and Can, Terry Riley, and Dorothy Ashby. A new world springs from ancient traditions—with East Indian, Middle Eastern, traditional Japanese music and Native American rhythms aligned with Deradoorian's singular orbit. The songs glide through a odyssey of self-exploration—glowing and warping, burning brightly and floating gracefully, permanently transcending.